THE MIDDLE TO UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS

Published on December 01, 2002.

Will it play in Peoria? Businesses targeting the middle to
upper-middle class should know the answer to this question, as the
largest concentration of the middle class is found in the Midwest,
in such metros as Sheboygan and Oshkosh in Wisconsin and, yes,
Peoria. With 26 million households, the middle to upper-middle
class is dominated by people who identify as white alone — 82
percent of people in this category identify with that race group, a
larger share than in the population as whole.

Nevertheless, the smaller segments of this income group
represent substantial opportunity for marketers. For example, there
are more than 2 million black households in this category, which is
nearly the same number of households with an income of $200,000 or
more. Most businesses would find it convenient to divvy up this
category further, as there is a world of difference between a
household that is at the bottom of this band, with earnings of
$45,000, and one that is at the top, with earnings over $70,000. In
fact, census data reveals there are actually more households at the
top of this bracket than at the bottom: Of the roughly 26 million
households in this income group, about 11 million have an income
between $60,000 to $74,999 (representing 43 percent of this
segment); 10 million have an income between $50,000 and $59,999
(representing 37 percent); and 5 million have earnings between
$45,000 and $49,999 (20 percent).

The size of this group makes further demographic, geographic and
psychographic segmentation absolutely essential for marketers, says
Catherine D'Azevedo, vice president and media director of The
Leslie Agency, a Greenville, S.C.-based marketing firm. This
category, she reports, is the target market for one of the agency's
clients, the South Carolina Tourism Board, as South Carolina is a
drive-to vacation destination. To narrow the market, the agency
built a comprehensive demographic and geographic profile, and ran a
coupon in Sunday newspaper supplements in key metros last spring.
The result: 11,000 requests in one day for information, the largest
one-day response the organization had ever had.

TOP 50 METROS: $45,000 TO $74,999

There are millions of middle-class
households across the country, but they are mostly concentrated in
middle-American metros like Green Bay, Wis., and Elkhart-Goshen,
Ind. Smaller metros in the East and West are also home to a large
share of the middle class, including two metros in central
Pennsylvania, Lancaster and York.

RANK

METRO

NUMBER

PERCENT

1

Sheboygan, WI MSA

14,294

32.8%

2

Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI MSA

43,971

32.2%

3

Wausau, WI MSA

15,037

31.5%

4

York, PA MSA

45,730

30.8%

5

Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA

20,129

30.4%

6

Green Bay, WI MSA

26,389

30.2%

7

Lancaster, PA MSA

51,876

30.0%

8

Janesville-Beloit, WI MSA

17,483

29.8%

9

Cedar Rapids, IA MSA

22,596

29.4%

10

Sioux Falls, SD MSA

19,612

29.3%

11

Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT MSA

126,323

29.2%

12

St. Cloud, MN MSA

17,635

29.1%

13

Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI MSA

115,189

29.0%

14

Rochester, MN MSA

13,875

29.0%

15

Madison, WI MSA

49,979

28.8%

16

Provo-Orem, UT MSA

28,641

28.6%

17

Des Moines, IA MSA

51,050

28.4%

18

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA

322,369

28.3%

19

Fort Wayne, IN MSA

54,408

28.3%

20

New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA

32,154

28.2%

21

Rockford, IL MSA

39,833

28.1%

22

Colorado Springs, CO MSA

54,029

28.1%

23

Bismarck, ND MSA

10,527

28.0%

24

Reading, PA MSA

39,503

27.9%

25

Burlington, VT MSA

18,131

27.8%

26

Jackson, MI MSA

16,206

27.8%

27

Anchorage, AK MSA

26,312

27.7%

28

Wichita, KS MSA

58,121

27.6%

29

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO MSA

26,750

27.5%

30

Eau Claire, WI MSA

15,774

27.5%

31

Dubuque, IA MSA

9,271

27.5%

32

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA CMSA

382,819

27.5%

33

Peoria-Pekin, IL MSA

37,301

27.4%

34

Portland-Salem, OR-WA CMSA

237,789

27.4%

35

Omaha, NE-IA MSA

75,659

27.4%

36

Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA MSA

68,037

27.3%

37

Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC MSA

157,532

27.3%

38

Portland, ME MSA

27,058

27.1%

39

Lincoln, NE MSA

26,920

27.1%

40

Kansas City, MO-KS MSA

188,313

27.1%

41

Bloomington-Normal, IL MSA

15,363

27.1%

42

Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA MSA

18,788

27.0%

43

Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA

155,564

27.0%

44

Atlanta, GA MSA

405,658

26.9%

45

Milwaukee-Racine, WI CMSA

177,362

26.9%

46

Topeka, KS MSA

18,520

26.8%

47

Kokomo, IN MSA

11,090

26.8%

48

Fort Walton Beach, FL MSA

17,801

26.8%

49

Boise City, ID MSA

42,537

26.8%

50

Reno, NV MSA

35,440

26.8%

Note: Statistical ties are due to
rounding.

Source: American Demographics
analysis of Census 2000 data

THE COLOR OF MONEY

Whites dominate the middle to
upper-middle class today, but as the U.S. population becomes even
more diverse, this should start to change. Although race data from
1990 and 2000 is not strictly comparable because of changes in
Census 2000 methodology, the share of minorities in the middle
class is on the rise.

RACE

NUMBER

PERCENT

White alone

21,242,958

82.4%

Black alone

2,318,381

9.0%

Native American alone

156,937

0.6%

Asian alone

752,370

2.9%

Multirace

439,960

1.7%

Hispanic

2,034,718

7.9%

Note: Does not add to 100 percent
because chart includes Hispanics, who can be of any race, and
excludes Native Hawaiians.